"More than YOU want to know?
One of at least several forms expressed by seedlings of the purported Trichocereus peruvianus huancabamba is shown below. This one was grown by Oasis from seeds that Kermit had obtained from Mesa Garden.
Under some conditions of growth the pachanot can look rather similar.
Copyright © by Keeper Trout
A comparison of the flowers from a few assorted Trichocereus species that appear to be closely related to each other based on their simple morphology. (click here for a larger version):
Copyright © by Keeper Trout
Three images shared by Michael Smith of short-spined Trichocereus pachanoi growing in Ecuador.
Spine length can be extremely variable so it surprisingly can often be a feature that does not help much with species assignment in this area. (Trichocereus peruvianus similarly expresses a range of spination from short to long.)
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
Copyright © by Keeper Trout
The images on this page show pachanot production in a large wholesale commercial nursery operation in southern California. These are produced in bulk as pristine high-quality new-growth tips that are sold as unrooted but healed cuttings to many retail nurseries. Their customers typically then root them, sometimes then growing them out into various sizes of nursery pots, and then resell them as their nursery stock. I’ll bet that many readers in the USA have actually seen these people’s material in their local big chain home improvement centers.
If this was hybrid, whether produced by a horticulturalist’s hands or encountered in the wild, it would be hard for any professional cactus grower to not recognize it as a serious potential money maker due to its features of not just having a growth rate driven by hybrid vigor but possessing large, showy and pleasantly fragrant flowers that occurred reliably and abundantly in almost any mild to moderate temperate climate, its habit of freely branching into multicolumn specimens, a highly favorable responsiveness and toleration to cuttings being taken, and its high water tolerance with no moderate drought and freeze hardiness.
Photographs © copyright by Anonymous;
reproduced with permission by Trout’s Notes
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
H 79960 Trichocereus aff. bridgesii growing in a private collection in Monrovia, California.
The plant shown above was obtained from the Huntington (with their permission and assistance).
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
Copyright © by Keeper Trout
Cochabamba, Bolivia holds at least one fascinating Trichocereus pachanoi form.
These are apparently propagated by a convent.
Photographs are copyright by Dani; reproduced with permission.
My THANKS to Michael S. Smith for noticing these
and for obtaining permission for their inclusion!
A closer view of a spiny Trichocereus pachanoi cultivated at Quito, Ecuador.
Both long and short spined forms of pachanoi are common in Ecuador (similar to the picture in Peru). It has been proposed that the short spined versions were developed by human selection but as far as I can tell this is entirely still speculative.
Image copyright by Hubbie Smidlak 2008;
reproduced with permission by Trout’s Notes
More pachanoi at Quito, Ecuador
pachanoi at Vilcabamba, Ecuador
pachanoi in Peru
pachanoi in Bolivia
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
These are cuttings of a bona fide Trichocereus pachanoi from Peru that were harvested at Matucana and then shipped to the USA. These provided the botanical material that was analyzed by Olabode Ogunbodede; with results published in the 15 September 2010 issue of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (Volume 131, Issue 2, Pages 356–362).
These tips spent some months inside of a box traveling through the postal system. Obtaining these cuttings proved to be a surreal adventure as it took well over a year with many convolutions including the final delivery lacking identification labels and documentation. It was nothing short of a minor miracle that successful delivery was actually realized.
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
The new growth on a pachanot.
This is a very typical new tip for a pachanot. Its no surprise this plant is so widely loved for its beauty.
Smith’s observations
with excerpts from some published descriptions.
Topic 1: Backeberg’s clone
Topic 2: pachanoi compared to pachanot.
Additional material to ponder:
Copyright © by Keeper Trout